Random Baby Name Generator
Random baby name, or pick from your shortlist.
Built and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Last checked
Two names on the fridge and neither of you will budge? Paste your finalists and let the picker choose, or leave the list empty to browse a 222-name bank — 100 boy, 92 girl, and 30 unisex names — filtered by gender and starting letter. Parents use it to break shortlist deadlocks, find names starting with a family initial, or just spark fresh ideas.
Shortlist (optional). Paste your own candidate names to pick only between those.
0 items
Click Get a name to see a result.
Options
Recent results
- No history yet.
How it works
- Shortlist (optional). Paste your own candidate names to pick only between those.
- Or discover. Leave the list empty and filter by gender or starting letter to browse ideas.
- Pick. Click "Get a name" to draw one at random.
- Share. Copy a share link so your partner opens the exact same shortlist.
About the Random Baby Name Generator
Two modes, decided by whether you paste a list
This tool changes behaviour depending on the input box, and it is worth knowing which mode you are in. Leave the box empty and it draws from its own library of names, filtered by the gender and starting-letter options. Paste your own names and it ignores the library entirely and picks only between your candidates.
Those are two genuinely different jobs. The first is discovery — you need more ideas. The second is decision — you have too many good ones and need to stop deliberating. The distinction is worth thinking about explicitly, because the two phases need opposite things and most name tools only do one.
The filters only apply to the built-in library
Gender and starting letter filter the library. They do not filter a pasted shortlist — a shortlist is treated as exactly the set of names you meant, because you already applied whatever criteria mattered when you wrote it.
The library tags names as girl, boy or unisex, and the unisex entries appear under their own filter rather than in both. Selecting "girl" therefore excludes unisex names, which is a choice worth knowing about if you are looking broadly; leaving gender blank draws from everything.
No repeats and the shortlist workflow
With No repeats on the tool tracks what it has shown and works through the pool before cycling. In discovery mode that lets you see the whole library for a letter without the same three names recurring. In shortlist mode it turns the tool into an elimination round — draw, react, and the name you did not want back is the answer.
The record is kept in this browser, so two parents on two phones have two separate histories.
Frequently asked questions
Can it pick between names my partner and I already chose?
Yes. Paste your shortlist into the list box, one name per line, and the tool picks only among those. The gender and letter filters are ignored whenever your shortlist has entries.
How big is the built-in name bank?
222 curated given names: 100 boy, 92 girl, and 30 unisex. It's meant for sparking ideas rather than serving as a comprehensive registry, so treat it as a browsing pool.
Can I find names starting with a specific letter?
Yes. With the shortlist empty, type a letter in the starting-letter box — useful for matching a family initial or a sibling naming pattern. Combine it with the gender filter to narrow further.
Can I send my shortlist to my partner?
Click Share link and the tool copies a URL containing your current list and filter settings, so your partner opens the page with the same shortlist loaded and can draw independently.
Will it suggest the same name twice?
It can, unless you switch on no-repeats, which remembers drawn names and skips them until every name in your current pool — shortlist or filtered bank — has come up once.
Related randomizers
Further reading
- Naming a baby around a constraint you already have
Most couples aren't naming from a blank slate — they're naming around a rule: match a sibling's initial, honor a grandparent's letter, or stay unisex. Here's how to turn those constraints into filters instead of fighting them.
- Picking a baby name is two different problems: discovery, then decision
Early on, the problem is too few ideas. Later, it's too many good ones. Here's why a baby name generator needs two separate modes — filtered random discovery and paste-your-shortlist decision — and a routine for each phase.